Its so hard
by Midnight-rambles
Summary: Kyoya realises its a hard thing, love. He tries to suppress his feelings for a certain commoner however, he can't and what he doesn't realise is that he is also hurting her in the process of figuring out his feelings [HaruhixKyoya] light humor
1. irritated

Its so hard

By Incomparable

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1

Irritated

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Cursing, Haruhi sat by the windowsill, gazing over the school grounds. Tamaki was once again spacing out having another one of those pathetic dreams that will never happen this lifetime. She couldn't understand why she of all people fascinated him so much. True, they were all quite fascinated by her commoner culture but Tamaki, he just takes everything to another level.

Her migraine was troubling her since first period when the twins decided that first period was the best time to pick another one of those fights where they complain about being too alike.

Right now was supposed to be a host club meeting about some kind of Christmas party that they are holding. Haruhi couldn't help but remember the tragic Christmas party that was held last year. Yes, the last event. A kiss from Haruhi. Tamaki had tried to stop it from happening but in the commotion, had actually furthered it. Haruhi had only meant to kiss the cheek but instead, Tamaki came rushing behind her and pushed her, making her fall over, kiss the girl on the lips and managed to hurt her leg even more. Haruhi sighed. And this year, there's going to be another Christmas party.

Haruhi couldn't be bothered to listen to all their plans. They were discussing dinner and desserts to serve the guests much to Hunny's pleasure.

"Haru-chan!" Hunny called out to her. "Haru-chan!"

"Yes Hunny?" Haruhi hadn't been listening for the past half an hour, her mind on other things.

"Haru-chan! What do you prefer? Strawberry or Chocolate cake?" Hunny asked.

Haruhi sighed. She should've expected Hunny to ask that sort of question. "Umm. I'm not a big fan of either" Upon looking at Hunny's crestfallen face, she quickly added. "But I really enjoy vanilla"

Hunny's face immediately brightened up. "Ok! Kyoya! Add a vanilla cake to the deserts list."

Haruhi was going to fall asleep. There was really no need of her presence at the meeting. She wasn't even doing anything. She walked over to the table to get a cup of coffee, not the commoner's brand though. She needed something richer and stronger to keep her awake. She was so tired that she when she put down the jug, it landed on the table with a loud thud.

"Haruhi" Someone's voice called out. Kyoya's voice. Maybe he saw through to how tired she was and would let her off early. Since when had he become so perceptive. She looked up hopefully. "Yes sempai?"

"That jug is 20 000 yen. I would be careful if I were you." He didn't need to say anymore. Haruhi swore under her breath. Stupid rich brats. Her debt was far from over and if 20 000 yen was added, she'd have to finish the debt in the next lifetime. Haruhi could tell Kyoya was also in an irritated mood today but decided not to snap back in fear that he would raise her debt. She straightened up. "Yes sempai".

By the time she got home, she collapsed on the couch. Her headache had rampaged on throughout the whole day. At the end of the day during the meeting, the twins were making a loud racket as usual which didn't really help the situation much, Tamaki had awaken from his daydream and had started ranting on about the commoner's supermarkets, the food there, Hunny was off playing with his Usa with Mori looking over him and Kyoya in his aggravated mood today.

Thinking about how on earth did she manage to get to this stage without getting a bed at the local mental institution, she slowly drifted into deep sleep.

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A/N: Ahh, finally, one chapter done. Yes, this is not a fast-paced story but things will become more interesting when the introduction is out of the way. Since its still the holidays, I'm going to write more than usual. Hehe. Comments are more than welcome, please leave a reply on how you think its progressing. If you don't like this, please don't flame me D Read on now ---- 


	2. exception

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2

Exception

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Kyoya chuckled to himself silently. He seemed to be the only one that noticed how irritated Haruhi was. He was going to push her over the edge some more to provide some entertainment for himself. He was stuck here with the rest of the club members wasting his time. Kyoya knew that Haruhi would get out of there at the first chance that came along but he didn't give her that chance. Hey, if he was stuck there having his time wasted, he was not about to let anyone run free.

A few years before, Kyoya Otori would never have thought that joining a host club would gain much profit. He was rather surprised when the chairman's son brought it up to him. He had to think it several times over. But, he realized that this was one opportunity that could not be missed. Being close to the chairman's son would bring good connections and on those thoughts, Kyoya decided to join the Host Club. Of course at that time, he had not anticipated how idiotic the chairman's son was. Kyoya sighed. He had grown to become friends with everyone in the club.

Upon being the vice-president of the club, he was also their finance manager. People had called him the king behind the scenes. Kyoya smiled at that idea. But he was also cold. When there was no profit for him, he would be as icy as Antarctica. His demon side 'the Demon'. He cringed, surely people would have a better name, Demon sounded a bit too ordinary. He liked to be unique, high – classed and composed.

"Meeting adjourned!" cried out Tamaki.

Thank god. He swiftly got into his car and ordered to drive home. At home, he felt safe. When at home, he could melt down some of his walls that guarded him when with others. These walls would protect him and others find him to be unreadable at times, you can't tell what he was thinking.

He rubbed his temples. However, there was one exception. Fujioka Haruhi. The way her big eyes looked at you intently, as if absorbing all your thoughts. However, she was still blunt. She mostly spoke her thoughts which, generally results with Tamaki sulking in the corner. Kyoya laughed quietly.

The next day, Kyoya's phone started ringing at nine. Who on earth would call at a time like this. Didn't most people know that when you call at this hour, you were likely to get murdered by Kyoya? He picked it up.

"What?"

"KYOYA!! Its me, Tamaki!! I-just-thought-of-the-best-idea,-since-its-Saturday,-we're-going- to-the-local-commoner-mall-again-with-the-rest-of-the-Club-members. Ok-meet-you-in-fifteen-I'll-pick-you-up.-Bye-"

"What the hell" Kyoya muttered as he rolled over in bed. Tamaki was smart, Kyoya gave him credit for that, he hung up the phone before Kyoya could start on him. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. Today was going to be a long day. Normally, he wouldn't get up at an absurd time like this but he remembered the incident last time where they dragged him off, he'd prefer to be conscious of his surroundings this time.

No doubt, there is going to be some kind of commoner culture going on at the mall. Kyoya had no interest in any of this but since this was a club excursion, he decided to go along, perhaps things will turn more interesting.

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A/N: Yes, things are going to get more interesting in the next chapter. By the way, I mentioned the Christmas party in the previous chapter, yes there is going to be more on the topic in, let's say, the fourth or fifth chapter? Please leave a comment, I love comments!!. And if you have any suggestions, you can leave them here too, D. Next page ------ 


	3. the incident

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3

The Incident

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Tamaki was at her doorstep early in the morning. "HARUHI! DADDY IS TAKING YOU TO THE MALL!" Oh joy. "Uh, Tamaki, I've still got some laundry to do" Haruhi turned around and sprinted back to the house, however, it was not her fault that she was physically challenged and the twins caught up to her easily. They dragged her into their limo. "You're not going to get away that easily you know"

During the limo ride, Haruhi spent most of the time gazing out of the window. She was feeling oddly uncomfortable with Kyoya. It was common knowledge that the guy would always be in a foul mood when waking up earlier than eleven during a non-school day. Why Tamaki woke him up when he knew of this, she had no idea. Kyoya was shooting death glares at everyone while Tamaki was happily jabbering about the simple joys of the commoner world.

Once at the mall, things never changed, the host club was awed as usual. Tamaki was standing there sparkling with excitement, the twins were going around yelling 'MASS PRODUCTION!! MASS PRODUCTION!!", Hunny and Mori were going to the bakery and Kyoya was standing several feet away looking as if he didn't know them. Haruhi wanted to die of embarrassment.

Kyoya and Haruhi stood outside a clothing store while the rest of the club members were making a racket inside.

"So Haruhi, do you come here often?" He was talking to her, she realized.

"Uh, not really. I normally to a different mall but I've been here before" She replied carefully.

"I see" was his reply.

This ritual continued for the next few shops, they would both wait outside for the club and while waiting, make light conversations.

It was finally lunchtime but none of the host club members seemed hungry at all. Haruhi tried to hide the fact that she was starving but her stomach gave it away making a soft grumble. Kyoya looked over at her and chuckled softly.

"Are you hungry Haruhi?" Isn't it obvious thought Haruhi.

"Yeah, kinda" Haruhi admitted.

"We'll go to the food court then. We'll meet up with the rest of the group later." He was already walking away when he told her and Haruhi had to run to catch up.

They walked over to the sushi shop. When the sushi was bought, they looked around for seats. As Kyoya was looking around, he noticed a boy of around ten, running towards Haruhi at top speed, Right behind him was another boy chasing him. When the boy finally looked forward, His face turned to horror realizing he was about to crash into someone but he didn't have enough time to stop. Through instinct, Kyoya wrapped an arm around haruhi and pulled her towards him. The boys whizzed past them turning around to yell "SORRY DUDE". _Commoners, such disrespectful manners some of them had_ thought Kyoya.

"Ano, Kyoya-sempai. Can you please, uh, free me" Kyoya looked down at Haruhi and their awkward position. His arm was around her waist holding her close to his chest.

"Sorry" He said politely. He let go.

"Thank you sempai as well" Haruhi smiled gratefully at Kyoya but he was already heading for an empty table.

As they were eating, Haruhi was reminded of the other time they met at the mall and smiled as she remembered Kyoya's eating manner.

"What is so amusing?" Damn, why was he so observant.

"Remember the last time we met at the mall?" Kyoya smiled, he had made an excellent client. The lady in the kimono. However, Kyoya's smile slowly faded when he remembered the question Haruhi had asked him _What is your definition of benefit Kyoya sempai?_

He still hadn't thought of an answer for that.

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A/N: Yes! Another chapter is doneee. yeahh!!!! Thank you catslove17 and cherriesontop for the reviews. It was mentioned that this story needed more action. I'll get to that so we'll just have to wait for awhile. XD. reviewww. Now Onwards!! --- 


	4. A little gesture

A/N: Hello, I thought it would be nice if I put a little blurb like thing here, to tell you where this is going. Okay what's happening is Kyoya and Haruhi realizes their feelings for each other however there are complications for Kyoya eg. He is from a high-classed family whereas she is only a commoner. He then tries to shield himself away from Haruhi to stop those feelings. Haruhi gets deeply hurt by this and Kyoya is also hurt to see Haruhi hurt. And I haven't figured out how it would go on from there so we'll have to wait and see. Right now, they're in the 'realizing their feelings' bit. Yes, I have decided that this fanfic is going to be a fairly long one.

Okay, enjoy!

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4

A little gesture

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Haruhi was looking at him through those big eyes of hers. Damn. He quickly averted his gaze somewhere else. Kyoya was beginning to realise that he was feeling oddly uncomfortable sitting there with her. He stared hard ahead at nothing in particular trying to ignore those perceptive eyes that were looking into his soul.

"Ano, Kyoya sempai?" Haruhi asked tentatively.

"Yes Haruhi?"

"What are you looking at?"

_She was right, what was he looking at. _Kyoya's eyes quickly focused in. A statue of Santa Clause. Shaking his head _commoners, they tell their children such lies about an imaginary christmas character. _

"I wasn't really looking at anything in particular. I was merely thinking deeply about something" _about you_ Kyoya added silently in his mind.

At this time a loud cry was heard from across the food court. "KYOYA-KUN!! HARUHIIIII!!! DADDY WAS WORRIED!! WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF TO?" Upon hearing that, Haruhi sank lower into her chair. Kyoya looked around and saw Tamaki, the twins, Hunny and Mori running towards them.

"I was hungry but I didn't want to interupt you guys because you seemed to be having so much fun looking at um, ordinary stuff" Replied Haruhi innocently.

Kyoya smirked. He had picked up on Haruhi's light sarcasm. Clearly Tamaki had not picked up on it. "BUT WE'RE A FAMILY! FAMILY MUST STICK TOGETHER" _Okay, this is starting to get a tad ridiculous_ thought Haruhi, tables around them were all staring, Haruhi could almost hear their thoughts _what a .. young family, are they for real?_

"You guys hungry or not? If not, we'll just keep shopping, I've finished my food" The crew cheered at more shopping (translation: looking around at perfectly normal everyday items).

As they were walking through a cardiology shop, Haruhi spotted a cute little bear sitting on a shelf. She smiled at it fondly. She remembered that her mother had always liked to surprise her with stuffed toys when she was young. Haruhi picked up the bear from the shelf, she decided that she would visit her mother's grave tomorrow morning and leave the little bear there as a gift for her. At the counter, she reached for her pocket, then did she remember that she didn't bring enough money in her wallet. _Damn_

Before she could turn around, a slender hand held the bear forward, Haruhi could feel the gentle heat coming from the body behind hers and with the other hand, Kyoya handed over the money. It felt like Kyoya was embracing her. Haruhi felt a tinkly feeling somewhere but couldn't quite place where she had felt it. Haruhi breathed in deeply, inhaling his scent.

She never really had such an intimate contact before. Something about Kyoya makes her want to know more. He was such a dark and composed person on the outside, but for some strange feeling, Haruhi enjoyed his company. He was not a loud person, generally not annoying nor could one say he was 'evil'. However what bothered her about him was that he never kept his guard down, it was like he built a wall to protect him from other people and almost as if, to protect other people from him. Haruhi had heard many rumors that he was cold and cared little about others however, she knew they were wrong. She still hadn't forgotten the time when she met him at the mall. He had been protective and managed to cause the shopkeeper much trouble much to her pleasure, yet at that time, no financial profit was available to him.

She smiled but soon noticed that his fragrance was no longer there. He was waiting outside for everyone again. She frowned, why did he have to be so confusing. "You have a very good-looking boyfriend" smiled the shopkeeper.

"Uh, h-he's not my boyfriend" Stuttered Haruhi.

"Oh" the now confused shopkeeper was saying. "Well, he certainly cares for you"

Haruhi could feel a deep blush creeping onto her cheeks. As she walked outside to join Kyoya, she looked down so that he could not see her pink face

"Thank you Kyoya-sempai. I will give you back the money tomorrow" The words rushed out of her mouth.

"No, its fine" Was his flat reply.

She frowned again. Perhaps the whole incident was imagined? No it can't be, his reply proves that it happened. She continued to analyze the situation until Kyoya's voice broke through her train of thoughts.

"Haruhi, would you like it if I take you out for a coffee tomorrow before noon?"

"Eh?" was Haruhi's surprised answer as she felt a warm feeling spread over her body.

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A/N: FINALLY!!! Haruhi and Kyoya are showing some more feelings. I was wondering if I rushed things. Hmmm. I was also wondering how long should I make a chapter? This chapter had been rather long compared to my other ones but I've noticed that in other fanfics, the authors had made their chapters three pages long, so I was wondering should I keep it at its current length or lengthen it?

I am writing another fanfic, this time, its Prince of Tennis and I'm co-writing it. If anyone is interested, you can find it at my profile page. It's called 'The young professors' genre: humor and light romance.

Once again, thank you to all the people who have reviewed this story, it has made my day!! Everytime I get a review, I spend the rest of the day grinning like an idiot but that's okay, I'll be a happy idiot. XD

Okay, I just realized that this author note is ridiculously long so I'm going to end it.

Now, shall we continue? ----


	5. Eyes

A/N: I just wanted to add some stuff here. Um, I think Haruhi starts to get a little bit out of character here. I can't really help it. Sorry. forgive me.

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5

Eyes

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It was Sunday, the day he was taking Haruhi out for coffee. _Why, why did I allow myself to give in to her._ Up until now, he had no problems controlling his emotions and feelings for the people around him. He kept his distance even from the closest of his friends and family. But now, he was starting to give way. Kyoya's train of thoughts continued on for quite a while as he was tossing around in bed, trying to get more sleep however, it was impossible.

Kyoya checked the clock as he got dressed. 10:12 am. He was going to meet Haruhi in an hour at the cafe. While he was checking his stocks, he thought back to yesterday at the cash register. He didn't know what had possessed him to almost embrace her, luckily, he had stopped before getting to close. Things would have gotten complicated however, he did ask to take her out for a coffee.

Yes, it was true that he had now developed somewhat an _attraction_ to Haruhi. But where would it go after that?

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As Haruhi entered the cafe, she saw a tall figure leaning on the chair at a table in the corner. _Kyoya_ she thought. She remember yesterday's afternoon when he asked to take her out.

_---FLASHBACK---_

"Haruhi, would you like it if I take you out for a coffee tomorrow before noon?" He had asked.

"Eh?" was her answer. What an intelligent answer.

"I said –" Kyoya repeated.

"Don't worry, I heard what you said. Coffee sounds good." She replied quickly.

"Okay, I'll meet you at café-star at eleven?"

"Sure" Haruhi was waited for him to say something else about tomorrow.

But he left it at that. For the rest of the day, they just resumed making light conversation.

---_END OF FLASHBACK_---

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He watched her as she walked closer. She was dressed in a pale yellow overcoat with a hood at the back and pale green ¾ cargos. He noted that she was also carrying a white bag.

"Good morning Kyoya-sempai" She said when they got close enough to hear each other.

"Good morning Haruhi" He replied back politely.

As the waiter took their order, Kyoya noticed Haruhi's eyes. They glistened wherever she looked, however today, they were different, they looked watery and had a touch of sadness in them. Kyoya didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he looked around the café. His barriers were crumbling, he could feel it and the reason was right before his eyes.

"Kyoya-sempai doesn't come to these places often, am I right?" He nodded in swift reply. Haruhi continued. "I was wondering why Kyoya invited me here"

Kyoya smiled. It was just like Haruhi to speak her mind. Of course, the answer was fairly obvious though. "You live quite close to here don't you?" He didn't need to say anymore. Haruhi nodded and soon enough, realization hit her face. "That was very kind of you" Kyoya again noticed her eyes. He couldn't stop himself.

"Haruhi, are you feeling alright? If you were uncomfortable coming out today, I wouldn't have done anything" He told her.

Haruhi smiled gently "Its fine."

The next hour passed quickly as they sipped their coffee and made conversations about anything. When they finished paying, Kyoya and Haruhi left together. Standing outside in the snow, Kyoya felt Haruhi's hand brushing his slightly. He didn't hesitate to take it. Haruhi looked up at him and spoke her words softly. "Kyoya, would you mind accompanying me to my mother's grave?"

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A/N: Yeah, yeah, yeah, nothing happened in this chapter, not that much I don't think. I think I'm kind of warping their characters now (bangs head on table) this is one of the worse mistakes, making people go out of character. Its so hard to move things along and still make Kyoya and Haruhi the same though. sigh. By the way, it is winter in the fanfic.

I'm currently debating how long this fanfic should be. It's definitely going to be more than 10 chapters with what I've planned out already. Yes, yes, the Christmas party event is definitely happening sometime this fanfic. I know I said I was going to mention it or further it by this chapter but I'm procrastinating. XD

Thank you for all the reviews. I really enjoy hearing about how the fanfic is progressing. It was mentioned that the love atmosphere isn't really showing up. At the moment I 'm trying to get Kyoya and Haruhi to feel comfortable with each other… I'll add some stuff in the next chapter then.

Ok, enough with the long author notes, I'll make my next author note short.

Ok, continue----


	6. Tears

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6

Tears

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Kyoya looked softly into Haruhi's eyes and nodded "I'd like to". Haruhi led him by the hand in the direction of the cemetery. He was surprised at how comfortable and warm his hand felt, securing hers.

As they walked, many things were going through Kyoya's head. He thought of the Otori heir. So far, it had not been confirmed who would be the heir of the Otori business empire and the order of birth didn't seem of such importance anymore. For the past years, each of the brothers had been working hard to impress their father in all academic aspects.

_If_ he started a serious relationship with Haruhi, his father would not approve of her common background, he was sure. All that he had achieved would be meaningless if he was to take their relationship further. However, Haruhi had already become more than just a friend to him.

"Kyoya-sempai, we're here" Haruhi said quietly next to him.

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As they stood silently in front of her mother's grave, Haruhi kneeled in front of the grave. She wished her mother was there to see everything she had achieved and to be proud. She wanted to tell her mother that she loved her and make up for all the times she missed the opportunity to say it when her mother was alive. But she couldn't, her mother wasn't with her anymore. Haruhi tried fighting the tears that were welling in her eyes but lost the battle, the tears ran quietly and smoothly along her face.

"Sorry mother- " She choked out. "I wasn't supposed to let you see me like this, crying"

"Haruhi" She felt arms sliding in around her waist, securing her tight to his body as Kyoya's soft voice continued. "It's alright, she'll be able to hear and see you"

She glanced up as he brushed away the tears from her face. "Thank you Kyoya-sempai for being here with me." Kyoya gave a gentle kiss to her forehead and then rested his chin on her head as they both turned to look at the photo placed in front of the grave.

Haruhi was crying too much to be surprised by his actions. When she slowly calmed down, Haruhi took out a small bear from the white bag and placed it in front of her mother's picture. "For you"

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The next day on the way to school, Kyoya sat back in his seat. As usual, he was thinking about her. However, today was different. He had to decide before it was too late. How much did Haruhi mean to him. Painfully much, he answered himself. But there were consequences. He was from a high status family yet she was of common heritage. This reason alone would drastically affect his likelihood of becoming the Otori heir.

As the car pulled into the school grounds, Kyoya had come to a decision.

Throughout club activities, Kyoya kept his distance away from Haruhi and avoided many of her confused gazes towards him. Finally when club activities were over, he got up and left the building, however, he wasn't fast enough. Outside on the sidewalk, a hand caught on his arm and pulled him back. _Haruhi._

"Kyoya, you were avoiding me all day. Is something wrong?" She looked up at him with those perceptive eyes of hers.

Kyoya sighed "Haruhi," His hand gently brushed her cheek "I'm sorry, I can't let myself be involved with you anymore"

Haruhi had felt those words coming but the tears rolled down her face just the same. "Why?" she whispered.

"Because we're different, we belong in different societies, we can't belong together" Kyoya quietly explained. "It was my fault for letting us get to this, forgive me" With that, he bent down to give Haruhi a soft kiss on the forehead and swiftly got into his car.

As he watched the tear-stained face of Haruhi disappear, he rolled up the tinted black windows of the car.

He felt tears falling onto his lap, they were his own.

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A/N: I feel like giving Kyoya a big hug . I promised to make this author note short so I'm not going to ramble now.

Neeeeext ------


	7. Avoidance

A/N: okay, before we start this fanfic, I've have to get some stuff clear. First of all, Kyoya and Haruhi weren't in a relationship but was heading that way. They were already past the just friends stage and sorting out their feelings. Kyoya didn't want to pull out when they get serious so this is the reason why Kyoya was telling Haruhi that he can't be too close to her anymore while they're still at an early stage.

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7

Avoidance

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A week had already passed since Kyoya confronted Haruhi. At first, she felt confused and betrayed. But soon, anger started seeping in. Kyoya had been leading her on and now in an instance, he threw her away.

As days went by, the atmosphere around them went from warm to ice. Haruhi would only reply back to Kyoya when he asked her something directly, otherwise, she just ignored the fact that he existed. Kyoya was avoiding Haruhi as much as he could during meetings and club activities, keeping his distance.

The club activities went on without much problem. Much to the clients' delight, the club's Christmas event is going to have each of the host club members dressing up as Santa and handing out small gifts to all the clients.

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Haruhi looked around glumly. They were in the last fifteen minutes of club activities. Many of the clients were gathered around Hikaru and Kaoru as Hikaru went all teary-eyed over a paper cut Kaoru had just received.

"Kaoru! I'm so sorry." Hikaru said tearfully.

"No Hikaru! It's not your fault, I'm the one that is sorry for causing such a burden with my injury! Forgive me" Kaoru said just as tearfully.

"Of course I will forgive you. We'll be together forever. We're born together and if anything shall happen to you, we shall die together"

"Hikaru, I am blessed with you by my side"

Haruhi almost fell over. Isn't this a _tad_ dramatic? However, the clients seemed to like it. _Brotherly love!_ Bullshit, she thought. She looked across the room to see Tamaki entertaining his clients, Hunny and Mori having a teaparty with their clients and _someone_ checking the current currency exchange rate on his laptop.

Finally, the clients' time had come to an end. When the last one was out the door, Tamaki gently closed the door behind her when he suddenly got a very excited look on his face. "Everyone! My father is hosting a New Year's Party on New Year's eve for his business associates but I was allowed to invite the host club members!"

"Tamaki-sempai, I think I've got plans for that day with my father" Haruhi quickly said.

"Not anymore! We have invited all your families to come! That includes Ranka-san!" Tamaki said joyously.

Unfortunately for Haruhi, her escape attempt failed leaving her no other choice but to go.

"Hey Haruhi!" Kaoru called. "What size are you?"

"Uh, eight, why?" Haruhi replied nervously.

"Oh, because we're gonna get mum to supply you with one of her dresses for the formal occasion."

And off went Tamaki in his little fantasy world daydreaming about Haruhi in a black cocktail dress. Haruhi sighed. Life was almost turning back to normal. Perhaps Kyoya didn't really mean that much to her in the first place. No, that was not true actually, every night she thought about his last words.

_Because we're different, we belong in different societies, we can't belong together._

_Stupid Kyoya,_ she thought angrily. _I was wrong about you. You're still a shallow person who only cares for your status and wealth._

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Kyoya was sitting at his desk looking through his calendar of important dates, he and his family had been invited to countless Christmas and new year parties hosted by people with great influence among society. He sighed. No matter how much he would like Haruhi to be with him and enter his society, he couldn't. His father would object immediately. She would be happier with someone like Tamaki whose father would be quite happy to welcome her into their family.

He had been avoiding her all week trying to wipe out her feelings for him. Had Haruhi been his future girlfriend, his father and everyone around him would look down upon her. Kyoya didn't want Haruhi to be hurt and if this meant ending their 'friendship' then, let it be.

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A/N: Okay, while I was writing this chapter I had this mantra ranting at the back of my head going _must keep everyone in character, must keep everyone in character._ It was easier than I thought since Kyoya and Haruhi are now avoiding each other but I guess it will get harder in the next few chapters. Oh well. This chapter doesn't really do much. As people have suggested, I decided to ease things in so it wouldn't be too sudden. So, I'm giving them a week or so before any other drama between them starts.

Happy reading


	8. The dress

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8

The dress

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"Haruhiii!" Called out Kaoru. "Look what mum sent us!" Upon saying so, he opened up an extravagantly decorated box to reveal an elegant dress. Even to a girl like Haruhi, the dress was rather breathtaking. Before Haruhi take a closer look, she was pushed into an empty room with the dress thrown at her and another box. She opened the other box and there, showed a lovely pair of white high heels.

"Hurry up and change. We all want to see what you look like, if it doesn't fit, we'll get mum to send you another one." Hikaru called from outside.

Haruhi sighed, _I better get over and done with. _Haruhi doubted it would fit her well. She just didn't have the figure that would compliment any dress unlike all the other girls. She has a really flat body thus, most girls believed she was a guy when wearing the right clothing.

When she walked out of the room, Tamaki flung himself onto Haruhi. "Daddy is so proud to have such a pretty daughter like you!!" He cried.

"Sempai? Please. Get. Off. Me." Haruhi hissed. At once, Tamaki reverted back to his old self, sulking in a corner.

"Wow! Haruhi looks really pretty" Hunny told her. Mori nodded amiably.

"Mum did a good job" Kaoru commented while Hikaru gave her the thumbs up. She then turned to look at Kyoya who just nodded, his expression was hard to read.

Haruhi found a full-length mirror at one end of the room. She was surprised at what she saw when she looked into the mirror. The heels made her look taller and looked perfect with the dress. The dress was the palest blue which fell just above her knees with a lining of white at the bottom and top. Around the waist was wrapped slightly tightly, a pearl white ribbon which, complimented her small waist. It was a simple, modest dress and in short, she looked beautiful.

Haruhi took a side-way glance at Kyoya however, he wasn't standing there anymore. Haruhi looked around the room and Kyoya was nowhere to be seen. She sighed and closed her eyes to take in the silky touch of the dress however, her mind drifted to a different topic.

Haruhi knew Kyoya didn't return the feelings she had for him but she never really gave up on him. Sometimes, she felt Kyoya's eyes looking at her intently while she was looking the other way but when she glanced back, he was either talking to someone else or absorbed in his laptop. _Was it just wishful thinking? _–

"Haruhi!" Her thoughts quickly dispersed when she heard someone call out her name.

"Haruhi," Hikaru repeated with an irritated look on his face. "Do you like the dress and shoes? Or should we ask mum to change them for you?"

"No, its beautiful. I like it. Please thank your mum for me" Haruhi quickly replied. "I'm going to go and change back now."

Miserably, she walked back inside the empty room.

------------

This was not like Kyoya Otori. Kyoya does not normally care about other people without benefit. That was the Kyoya he once was. However, now, it was different, he was different. _Damn. Why am I letting her change me. _For the past week, Kyoya had been thinking more and more about his last words to Haruhi that other day. Had he been saying the truth? -- No, the question should have been had he been saying what he _thought_ was the truth? Yes.

There was also another thing, he missed her. He missed the way she would smile gently at him or look at him with her big brown eyes. Or even just glance at him, though, nowadays, she would try hard to ignore him.

One of the main principles that his father had taught him was 'to buy, you have to pay'. The Otori heir. Something that Kyoya very much wanted. But, the price was high, Fujioka Haruhi. To have the chance of succeeding as the Otori heir, he had to give up on Fujioka Haruhi. Something that he couldn't bring himself to do.

------------

Kyoya knocked quietly at the door in front of him. "Come in, Kyoya"

Kyoya walked into a very spacious study. There were several bookshelves in the room filled with books of medicine and politics. The paintings and ornate sculptures that were placed in the room showed that the person behind the desk was of high status. The desk was neat with a silver, sleek looking laptop, a pen holder and a small pile of folders stacked neatly in one corner of the desk. And in the soft black leather seat, sat a man of around fifty wearing a dark, navy suit and hidden behind the glasses were a set of eyes that matched Kyoya's.

"Good evening father" Greeted Kyoya.

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A/N: Hello!!! Thank you to everyone who has read this fanfic. This fic now has more than 4000 hits. Thank you very much!!!

Now back to the fanfic. The meeting between Kyoya and his father will take place next chapter. In the mean time, I am currently working hard to figure out how their conversation is going to run.


	9. The meeting

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9

The meeting

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"Good evening father" Greeted Kyouya. His father nodded.

"Kyoya, I trust everything at school is fine?" Kyoya's father looked up from his laptop to his son.

"Yes, I came first again for the term tests in the class and will be class president again."

"Good. Both your brothers didn't have any problems when they were in school. I'm glad that you haven't let me down." His father closed his laptop and then looked at Kyoya thoughtfully. "Your brother is getting married next year."

_What?_ This was certainly news to Kyoya but then again, he hardly sees his brothers. His eldest brother moved out last spring and has been busy with the hospital. His second brother had just come back from studying overseas and is still finishing some medical courses here in japan. Both of them rarely spent much time at home each busy with their own lifes. Neither of them spent much time with him and neither one of his brothers had failed to meet his father's expectations and therefore, his father expects him to also meet his expectations.

"Who is he marrying?" Kyoya asked lightly.

"Mayuko Kurosaki She is the daughter of Ishida Kurosaki, a famous surgeon that had worked overseas in England but is now working in Japan." His father continued. "We will be meeting their family sometime during the New Year's holiday."

Kyoya nodded. "I will send my congratulations to my brother this week." He said politely. _I should tell my father about Haruhi soon. I was meant to tell him about it today but when he mentioned brother's marriage, he's going to expect me to find someone with a high social status as well._

"Father. I -" He faltered.

"Yes Kyoya?"

" Recently, I have met a girl that I like" Kyoya started.

"And who is this young woman?" His father interupted him.

"Haruhi Fujioka." Kyoya looked at his father to see a reaction but saw none, then he continued. "She's of common heritage."

When Kyoya looked back at his father, he expected there to be some expression or emotion, but he saw none. Not so much as even a flicker. Minutes passed before his father started speaking again.

"I see" His father replied. "So you came to . . . "

Kyoya looked at his father in surprise. "Father, I came to ask you that if you would accept Haruhi."

His father considered this for a while. "Kyoya, what I want is to see you happy and successful. However, I am concerned that this girl – "

"Haruhi father, her name is Haruhi" Kyoya corrected him.

"Yes, Haruhi" His father continued. " I was concerned that she may interfere with your life and disturb your future. I am a bit worried. Are you sure this is what you want?" Kyoya could hear the doubt in his father's voice.

"Yes, father." Kyoya firmly said. "I'm sure"

His father tapped his fingers gently on the glass desk as he thought it over. "Kyoya, I understand how you feel at the moment." He paused. "I have not met this girl yet but if she is right for you, I will grow to accept her."

Whether his father accepted her or not didn't matter to Kyoya. What mattered was that he would give Haruhi a chance. "Thank you father. She will be at the chairman's New Year Eve's Party."

"Alright Kyoya, I'll meet her then" His father settled back in his chair, satisfied.

As Kyoya walked out of his father's study, he couldn't hide the smile that was playing around his lips. Right now, he just had one more thing to solve. The problem that he and Haruhi are not exactly on speaking terms. _Big problem._

A/N: Hello to all my readers. Yes, this chapter was rather crap. I kind of had to write part of it in a hurry. Anyway, the problem is I'm starting school again and my writing time is limited so I'll probably be only updating the story once a week. Ok, because of this really crap chapter, I'll make the next one good and long, longer than this anyway. Promise.

When I look back from the time I started this fic, I think _woah, I wrote a lot in two weeks. _You probably think _woah, this person has no life. _I assure you I have a life. Haha.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed, I really liked hearing about your thoughts on this fanfic. Please continue doing so. XD bye . . . for now


	10. Sorry

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10

Sorry

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A gentle breeze passed as Haruhi walked to school, thinking. No matter how hard she tries to push Kyoya out of her mind, he never seems to really leave. Today was no exception. Kyoya's behaviour yesterday, was puzzling her greatly. Until yesterday, they pretty much avoided each other but yesterday, he started to make conversations with her. The conversations were pretty normal and nothing serious, just light subjects such as the Christmas event, holidays, weather etc etc. However, Haruhi was just surprised. Not particularly at him talking but the fact that he started acting friendly again and smiling. This reminded her how much she missed that side of him. Around her, he was different and he made her feel . . . protected. She felt that he had really cared about her and she showed her vulnerable side, crying at her mother's grave. In short, she had missed him.

------------

The day after tomorrow, the host club was going to host a Christmas ball and in turn, each host club member will dress as Santa Claus. Tamaki had gotten the idea from a trip to the local shopping centre where he saw many little children lined up getting ready to take photos and receive small gifts from Santa. Nevertheless, Tamaki insisted that they give each client a _small _Christmas gift bag with a _rose, _a _tiara_ and a _necklace_ when they dress up at Santa. _Fortunately, _Kyoya thought _the funds will be supplied from the last few auctions of Hunny sempai's pillow, Tamaki's comb and Hikaru's headphones._

Recently, Kyoya noticed that Tamaki had been acting rather differently towards him. It was only during the afternoon did Tamaki confront Kyoya. As the members of the host club each walked out of the Music Room, Kyoya heard his voice being called. "Kyoya," Called Tamaki "I want to speak to you".

Curious, Kyoya turned around. "Kyoya," Tamaki said seriously. "What did you do?"

"Pardon?" Kyoya asked politely.

"I _said_," Tamaki's voice was growing louder. "_What_ did you do? What did you do to Haruhi?"

"Could you please be more specific?" Though Kyoya already knew what he meant.

"Until yesterday, she was different. She was quiet and she seemed to be hiding something, something that was making her upset. I want to know what that was and I know you had something to do with it. You and Haruhi had been avoiding each other up until yesterday. You are my best friend and Haruhi is my daughter" Kyoya cringed when he heard the word _daughter. _Tamaki continued. "What was going on? During classes, you were always thinking deeply about something else. That's not like you. You pay attention to classes, Kyoya. Tell me what's going on, I don't like it when I feel left out" He whined. Tamaki was becoming his old self again.

Kyoya sighed. He contemplated. He would've preferred if know one noticed anything and if they did, they say nothing about it. It would eventually blow over.

"Tell me" Tamaki pressed.

"It was nothing." Kyoya said coolly. "Besides, it's over okay, from now on, me and Haruhi are back to normal. "

Tamaki pouted.

"I have to go now Tamaki. See you tomorrow" When Kyoya left, Tamaki was alone in Music Room three. Shaking his head, he picked up his belongings and went out the door. He knew what had went on and so did the other club members but wanted Kyoya and Haruhi to tell them yet, they never did. Not even when they were given the chance.

------------

Tomorrow's afternoon found the host club members lying in the white snow on the school grounds. As usual it was insisted on by Tamaki. Quote: _EVERYONE!! Instead of plastic surgery to change their skin colour, commoners opt for a cheaper technique, sun basking!!_ Kyoya lied down on the snow reluctantly. He had tried telling Tamaki that the commoners normally did this activity when there was sun and also a non-wet surface however, the idiot King insisted on experiencing the commoner _thrill_ now. All the club members were lying in the snow with their heads in a circle. After a few silent minutes . . .

"Milord?" Hikaru called.

"Yes?"

"This is boring" The twins chorused. "We don't want to change our skin colour and its wet and cold. We're just wasting our time. Can we get up and play chase or something?" Without an answer, the twins promptly got up and tromped back towards music room three.

"No!" Tamaki shouted after them. "This is family time!" As he said that, he scrambled to his feet and started chasing the twins back. Before he knew it, he had started the game. Mori and Hunny joined in soon after which left Haruhi and Kyoya still lying there.

"Kyoya?" Haruhi asked.

"Yeah?"

"The sky looks nice doesn't it?" She said.

"Yeah," Kyoya said as he smiled at Haruhi's attempt to start a conversation.

The sky today was a soft gray-blue colour with wisps of white clouds drifting here and there. A gentle wind swept past the willow trees swaying the tree branches slowly, making the snow that was on the branches to fall down. Haruhi watched quietly as a single dried up leaf got drifted by the wind high and low. The leaf then settled to the ground and was soon covered by a clump of snow. That was how she felt. She felt covered up, all closed, waiting for someone to lift up the weight from her. It felt wet lying there but also comfortable at the same time. Haruhi breathed in deeply as the cold winter wind breezed over her and closed her eyes listening to her still surroundings.

"Haruhi," Kyoya said quietly, breaking the tranquility. "I'm sorry"

------------

A/N: I originally had everyone lying on grass but then I remembered, it was winter in the story. So I had to change quite a bit of the ending. I guess having a warmer environment would've made the atmosphere nicer but seasons don't change that quickly. XP. Back to the scene at hand, Kyoya is currently struggling to mend his relationship with Haruhi.

Yes, the meeting between kyoya and his father went too fast, I know. Sorry, I was kind of hurrying at that time. Forgive me

Thank you so much to all my reviewers and readers. I'm really happy that so many of you liked my story, all the reviews fully made my day. This story now has 6000+ hits. I was so happy when I saw this. . Unfortunately, like I said last time, school has started. First week and a half back and already I have homework. _Sigh_. I'm missing the freedom of holidays already.


	11. A new beginning

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11

A new beginning

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"Haruhi," Kyoya said quietly, breaking the tranquility. "I'm sorry"

Haruhi opened her eyes in surprise. Kyoya continued. "I'm sorry for making you upset. Sorry for leaving you in confusion with no answers. Sorry for letting you down and . . . for letting you go" He added softly.

Stunned, Haruhi just lay there, silent. Kyoya admitting he was wrong and apologizing was a rare occasion. "Haruhi?"

"Haruhi?" Kyoya asked again.

_What is he expecting me to say?_ Haruhi thought frantically.

As if he read her thoughts, Kyoya spoke again. "You don't have to say anything now, I just wanted to let you know that I- I never really gave up on you"

_Nor did I._

"I know you don't want to hear my explanations. Maybe some other time. Sorry." He glanced towards her direction and was surprised to see big drops of tears rolling down her face.

"Haruhi!" Kyoya quickly rummaged around his blazer finding a packet of tissues.

Haruhi felt her tears being gently wiped away but couldn't bring herself to look at him. "Sorry, Kyoya, I need to go somewhere and . . . think." She jumped up swiftly and ran towards the school buildings wiping a tear with her sleeve every few seconds.

Kyoya sighed. He blamed himself for making Haruhi go through this. As minutes passed by, he sat leaning against the willow tree, thinking, oblivious to the fact that the rest of the host club was well aware of their small commotion.

"Milord! What do you think?" Hikaru asked.

"How could mother just let our daughter run off in tears!" Tamaki whispered furiously.

"Milord, you're so gay. Why do you always think in terms like those?" Kaoru said lazily.

"How could you speak like that to your father! I will tolerate no back-chat!" Tamaki practically roared.

"Besides," Hikaru continued. "You know what's really going on! You're just denying it!"

"I SAID no back-chat!" Tamaki yelled.

"I think," Hunny's big eyes where shining brightly as he cuddled his bunny. "I think, Kyoya likes Haruhi and Haruhi . . . likes Kyoya. But, they just haven't realized how the other person feels" He smiled, pleased with himself.

With that said, Tamaki promptly fainted.

------------

"Tama-chan! Wake up!"

"Milord! Snap out of it!"

Everyone was crowded around Tamaki who was lying on the couch in Music Room three after being carried there by Mori. How he got to that state, Kyoya didn't know. No matter whom he asked, he didn't get a decent answer. When he asked Hunny – sempai, he got _Don't worry Kyoya, he'll be fine. _Kyoya then asked the twins and got two different answers. One was _oh, milord saw a bear and fainted._ The other answer was _he walked into a pole which knocked him unconscious._ Okay, Tamaki is stupid but not that stupid to go walking into poles, Kyoya thought. Then he asked Mori - sempai but all he got in return was a smile. And Haruhi was no where to be seem.

Kyoya checked his watch. Tamaki had been lying on the couch for ten minutes. Finally after another five minutes, Tamaki's eyes fluttered. He moaned. "Why didn't he tell meee?" Kyoya looked up in confusion. _Who was 'he'?_

Hunny quickly rushed "Tama-chan! You're awake!"

But Tamaki kept at it. "Why didn't he tell meee?"

Hikaru and Kaoru quickly came in. "Milord! Come back to earth! Stop talking nonsense!"

Tamaki looked around at his surroundings, his eyes lingered on Kyoya for a few seconds before looking down. "Yes, yes, nonsense. I was talking nonsense, take no notice of what I just said." He hastily said when it hit him who he was talking infront of. However, Kyoya knew a lie when he heard one.

He strolled towards the door. _Click, _went the lock. Slowly, he turned around to face everyone. "What is going on?" He asked calmly with an edge of danger in his voice.

Everyone's eyes flickered nervously around the room looking for another exit but found none. Finally Hunny came forward.

"Kyo-chan, we really want to know what is wrong between you and Haruhi. Just now, we all saw what happened. We really want to help you." Hunny said earnestly.

Kyoya frowned. This was unexpected. "I appreciate the thought but . . . no, thank you" He turned around and opened the door. Standing in front of him with her hand on the doorknob was, Haruhi.

A small blush crept onto her face as she stared into Kyoya's eyes. "Uh, I came back to get my things"

Kyoya nodded. "Right" He stepped aside to let her through as she darted to her bag. He was almost down the hall way when he heard Haruhi blurt out behind him. "We need to talk"

He stopped before he took another step and waited for Haruhi to catch up to him.

She took a deep breath before starting. "Kyoya, I'm sorry for running off like that when we were outside. I didn't mean for it to confuse or hurt you. I was a bit confused myself and wanted some time to myself, that was all."

Kyoya nodded. That was reasonable. She continued. "I really wanted to know what was going through your mind, the reason why you decided to ignore me.." She added softly. "I felt hurt and betrayed."

All of a sudden, Haruhi was pulled into Kyoya's arms in a strong embrace. "I didn't mean to hurt you." He murmured into her hair. "Do you want to know the reason why I ignored you?"

She nodded into his chest. Kyoya sighed. "You know how my family is. High-class and status in society. Both my brothers are your typical elites and my father expects everyone of us to be perfect. Perfect scores, perfect work and perfect lives. I didn't want you to have to be drawn into this sort of life. I was also afraid that because of who my parents and brothers are, they may hurt you because of your commoner background. That was the reason why I decided not to take things further. I didn't want you to be hurt."

"never" Haruhi whispered. "never do that again"

------------

A/N: Oh my god, I'm so sorry that they've fully warped out of character. Noooooooooo. I guess I'll just have to live with the fact that I can't write them in character in situations like these.

This fanfic is slowly coming to an end. It's got a few more chapters then its finished! I'm guessing from 3-5 more chapters? I'm not too sure yet but there's no way I'm going to make it to the 20 + chapter stage unless I'm going to separate Haruhi and Kyoya again. Don't worry, I'm not going to do that, they've already been through enough. Haha.

Remember, review review!


	12. Merry Christmas

A/N: For the sake of this fanfiction, Tamaki and Hikaru do not have crushes on Haruhi, they just have a fatherly and brotherly relationship with her. xD I'm too lazy to make it more complicated than that.

------------

12 Merry Christmas

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"Shhhh!" Kaoru whispered as the rest of the club members tiptoed back to music room three. "Pretend that we never witnessed that,"

"My little girl is growing up" Tamaki's bottom lip quivered as he said it.

Kaoru tried hard not to roll his eyes.

------------

The next day, all the host club members were busy with decorating the hall for the Christmas ball that was to be held that evening.

"Hikaru! Hurry up and get into that costume!" Tamaki ordered.

"Milorrrrd, do I have tooo?" Hikaru whined.

Earlier on, they had picked straws for the order of santa clause cosplaying. Unfortunately, Hikaru managed to pick the shortest straw. The order was to be Hikaru – Mori – Tamaki – Koaru – Haruhi – Hunny – Kyoya.

When Hikaru came out of the dressing room, everyone bursted out laughing. The costume did not fit properly and because of Hikaru's skinny frame, it was rather baggy.

"Here," Haruhi snickered as she chucked Hikaru a few cushions. "Stuff them some where, it will make you look more santa clause like. Hikaru gave her a strange look "Why would I do that? I'm perfectly fine like this. This is Hikaru-clause not santa-clause." After that, he strutted around the room in the costume.

Haruhi stifled a laugh. _Whatever. _She quickly busied herself with tinsel, wrapping it around the trees. She smiled to herself as she went about it. Since yesterday, she felt as if Kyoya had lifted something heavy off her, she felt light and caught herself smiling casually for no apparent reason at times.

------------

As Kyoya ordered the flowers on the phone, he casually glanced towards Haruhi's direction. She seemed to be enjoying herself, infact, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, getting into the spirit of Christmas. Everything seemed pretty normal now. He shook his head, no, 'normal' was not part of the host club's dictionary.

------------

"Kyaaa! Hikaru looks so cute in that outfit" Cried one of the clients.

Haruhi looked away. She looked around at the beautifully decorated hall infront of her. The color theme was gold and silver. Everything was done elegantly, even the cutlery had special Christmas decorations.

"Enjoying yourself?" A voice spoke up behind her. She whirled around to see Kyoya standing before her.

"Kyoya!"

"Yes?" He raised an eyebrow at her outburst of excitement.

She shrugged. "Never mind. I just wanted to call out your name."

Kyoya smiled. "So, are you enjoying yourself?" He repeated.

Haruhi nodded. "Yea. Amazingly."

Kyoya looked at her in a puzzled expression. "Amazingly?"

"I had low expectations seeing as what happened during last Christmas" She explained.

He nodded. "Reasonable"

------------

As the evening progressed, it was soon Haruhi's turn to dress as Santa Clause. When she came out, she was surrounded by many of the clients.

"Haruhi! You look very good as santa clause."

"Come sit at our table Haruhi!"

As she chatted to the clients, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kyoya talking discreetly on his phone. She almost forgot that she was engaged in a conversation and almost stopped talking. It was only after a few seconds did she feel her clients' eyes on her and quickly engaged them in another conversation. When they were finished. Haruhi jogged to the spot where Kyoya had been but he was gone.

"Haruhi!" Tamaki called. "Here's your sack, give a few of these gifts to the ladies that haven't received one yet, but make sure to leave some for Hunny and Kyoya to give out."

Disappointed, she tried to reassure herself that he was only ordering extra food but the fact that he seemed to be hiding from someone bothered her.

------------

"Thank you Haruhi!" A client squealed as she received her present. Haruhi smiled gently at her and was received with a deep blush.

_There, my last bag._ Haruhi's shift as Santa Clause was finished.

When she finished changing, she made her way around the small clumps of girls here and there to find Hunny.

"Hunny-sempai! It's your turn." Haruhi passed the bag of clothing to Hunny. "By the way, have you seen Kyoya?"

"Nope" Hunny cheerfully grinned at her. "Wherever he is, he will be back soon because his shift is next."

"Alright, thanks"

As Haruhi wandered aimlessly around the hall, she was approached by a shy looking girl. Behind here were a group of her friends staring at them. "Um, Haruhi-kun? Will you dance with me?" She said blushingly.

"It would be my pleasure"

It was rather awkward but thanks to the dancing lessons that she had taken, she could now move more gracefully as a guy. "Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Haruhi asked her.

"Oh yes, thank you for asking Haruhi-kun" The girl then glanced shyly at Haruhi. "You're my favourite host Haruhi-kun"

".." Haruhi smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, I'm very happy to know that you think that way"

When the dance was over, Haruhi joined in a few conversations with other clients but her heart was somewhere else. Many times she had wanted to catch Kyoya's eye but he was often surrounded by blushing girls. It was his turn as Santa Clause. She sighed. Tonight had become a bit of a letdown.

_I was hoping _Haruhi admitted to herself _that Kyoya would somehow make tonight mean a bit more special_. When all the guests filed out of the hall, the host club started to pack up. It was then when she heard someone behind her.

"Haruhi," Kyoya's voice softly said. "Merry Christmas"

In his hand was a small package wrapped in gold and silver wrapping paper. He smiled into her surprised eyes as he placed it in her hands.

------------

A/N: Oooh! I wonder what it is?? _Random: Shouldn't you know what it is? Aren't you the author?_ Oh yeah, whoops x).

I'm sorry for the late update. I was really busy. My next chapter might also be a bit late because I've got a test coming up.

My current mood: Ecstatic! I've got a team for basketball!! Ahaha, I can't wait for our games but the problem is we can't place this season because it's already started and the next season starts in two terms. _Sigh_. We're just training now. But you probably don't want to know about my life. Haha.

I've noticed that my chapters have grown much longer since the first few chapters xD

See you all at the next chapter.


	13. The new year

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13 The new year

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Haruhi's eyes opened wide when Kyoya gently put the package in her hands.

He smiled. "Open it".

Doing as she was told, she carefully unwrapped the package and saw a pale blue box with a bow in one corner. When she opened it, Haruhi saw a silver bracelet with words embedded on it. She lifted it up to read 'the girl who saw through me'. Her cheeks started to show patches of pink areas, pleased that she had meant something special to him.

"Haha, I can't wear this around club activities can I?" She joked.

"I have something else for you too." Kyoya added. His hand came out of his bag with a teddy bear. The same teddy bear that Haruhi had put on her mother's grave. 'For You'.

"I bought one on the weekends, now both your mum and you have one."

"Thank you Kyoya" Haruhi said softly. "I really appreciate this." She tiptoed on her feet to kiss Kyoya gently on the cheek. Strong arms then wrapped around her waist and pulled her towards his body. He mumbled in her hair "Merry Christmas, Haruhi".

"Merry Christmas" She murmured.

------------

"Haruhiiiiiiii, we're going to be lateeeee!" Ranka, Haruhi's Dad cried out.

"Hold on a sec! I'll be right out, I just need to finish my hair."

"We don't want to leave a bad impression on the chairman!! Hurry Up daughter!"

"I'm down! I'm down! . . . I'm here." Haruhi almost sprinted to the car, _almost__，_what prevented her from actually sprinting was the dress that the twin's mum had designed and the heels that she was wearing. Finally, they were ready to go to the New Year's Party that Tamaki's father was holding.

About a week has passed since Haruhi had been able to talk to Kyoya properly. The last time they were together for longer than five minutes was at the end of the Christmas ball. Most of the time when they could see each other was during host club sessions, but even then, it would have been suspicious if the guests saw.

Haruhi saw herself in the reflection of the car window, she had straightened her hair a bit so it seemed longer. Haruhi touched her hair, she doesn't normally straighten. Her hair was longer than when she first went into the host club, now it went halfway of the neck. If she didn't have to cut it so many times during the year, it would've gone to about shoulder length.

"We're here" Ranka said, looking back at the backseat where Haruhi was sitting. Her voice brought Haruhi out of her thoughts as she turned to look through the window at Tamaki's mansion. _Big, no, big is not even enough to describe it, massive._ Tamaki's mansion was truly amazing. Because it was night, the pathway to the door was lit by little lamp posts which, illuminated the beauty of their garden.

Haruhi took a deep breath before she got out of the car, tonight she would meet Kyoya's father. She had been mentally preparing herself for this encounter. Ranka led the way to the front door and pushed to doorbell. One of the servants opened and let them in.

Two seconds into the mansion and Haruhi heard "DAUGHTER! YOU'RE HERE!" Tamaki came bounding down the stairs with the rest of the host club following closely behind. However, as soon as he got there, he got shot down my one of Ranka's death glares which clearly showed the message '_just who are you calling daughter??"_. At once, he went to his corner of misery.

Looking pleased with himself, Ranka went off to join the rest of the adults in the backyard.

"Hi Haruhi-chan! The fireworks start in about four hours" Hunny said excitedly. "We're all going to the nearby hills to look at them alright? It'll only take about five minutes walk to get there."

Haruhi smiled down at him. "Okay, I can't wait."

"Milord, we're getting bored." Hikaru said. "We've still got ages to go"

"A ha!" Tamaki immediately came out of his corner. "I have recently obtained the commoner's game 'Monopoly'. This is a game of wit and challenge!" _No, its pretty much a game of luck actually._ Haruhi thought.

They all scrambled to a spare room and Tamaki spread out the game board. While he was explaining the rules, Kyoya came up behind Haruhi. "Would you like to meet my father now?"

Haruhi looked at him. Kyoya could see the uncertainty in her eyes. "It's alright, he doesn't bite" He assured her.

Haruhi chuckled. "Ok."

"Guys?" Kyoya was speaking to everyone. "I'm going to show Haruhi the backyard."

With one arm around her waist, they headed for the backyard. Out in the backyard, Haruhi recognized him immediately, he had dark gray hair and was dressed in a very formal attire, but that wasn't how Haruhi had recognized him. He had Kyoya's eyes.

When he saw them, he beckoned the two over. "Hello Mr. Otori." Haruhi bowed politely at the man in front of her. His eyes gazed intently at Haruhi. She felt uncomfortable but still stood up straight, determined to let him see no flaws.

"Father, this is Haruhi." Kyoya introduced.

"I see," He nodded. "She is rather pretty."

Haruhi flushed red and bowed slightly. "Thank you"

"So, what do you intend to study?" Kyoya's father asked, all business mode.

"I was thinking of a career in law." She replied, carefully choosing her words.

He nodded. "Which university are you going to apply for?"

"Well, I was thinking whether I should apply for a university overseas," next to her, Haruhi could feel Kyoya twitch, smiling, she continued. "Or I was thinking I should apply for Tokyo University." Kyoya's body relaxed.

"Kyoya had told me about you." He said. "My son thinks highly of you."

Kyoya's father pushed his glasses a little bit higher. "You can probably realize that I was a little bit surprised at Kyoya's choice for a girl-"

"Father," Kyoya started with an edge in his voice. His father stopped him from talking, putting one hand up.

He continued. "But, I can see that I had no need to be too worried." He smiled down at her. "Happy New Year's Eve" With that, he turned around and joined in with another conversation.

Haruhi, eyes wide, turned to Kyoya, "That's it? It's over?"

Kyoya nodded, trying to control his laughter at her facial expression. "Yes, that's it."

"My mental preparation had gone down the drain!" She whispered furiously.

"Wait, but aren't you glad that is was over?" Kyoya asked.

"Yeah, I guess so."

------------

"I won!" Hunny cried as he jumped around.

Haruhi grinned, Tamaki had become bankrupt in the game and was now shredding the rule book up.

"Guys, we should get going to the hills, all the adults are going out the door and its almost time for the countdown." Koaru announced to everyone.

They all put on their shoes and coats and walked out the door. Somewhere during the way there, Kyoya's hand found Haruhi's. For such a cold night, Haruhi felt warm inside.

When they reached the small hills, Haruhi and Kyoya placed themselves a little bit further away from everyone else. The hills were situated next to a harbor. You could see the small ripples on the water's surface.

There was still two minutes before the ten-second countdown.

"Any new year's resolutions?" Kyoya whispered into her ear.

"Yup, not to be so insensitive and blunt at times." She replied cheerfully. "You?"

"Hmmm" Kyoya looked up at the night sky. "To cut down Hunny's sweets, they take up too much profit." He grinned mischievously. Haruhi flicked his arm. "Don't be so mean."

Soon after, she whispered "It's starting"

". . . _10_ . . ."

_The year is finally coming to an end, thought Haruhi._

". . . _9 _. . ."

_She rested her head on his shoulder._

". . . _8_ . . ."

_Kyoya gazed down at the beautiful girl next to him._

". . . _7_ . . ."

_He thought for a second about the future, what would happen when they go to university_.

". . . _6_ . . ."

_Would things change?_

". . . _5_ . . ."

_No._

". . . _4_ . . ."

_They would be together still._

" . . . _3_ . . ."

_He bent his head forward._

". . . _2_ . . ."

_Their lips met as sparks flew in the sky._

". . . _1_ . . ."

"_Happy new year"_

_Finished_

A/N: Finiished. My longest chapter x). This fanfic has now come to an end. When I first wrote this fanfic, my aim was to get 50 reviews, now this fanfic has over 100. Thank you to all my reviewers and readers. I hope you enjoyed this story.

I'm now debating whether I should start another fanfic or just wait for the next holiday. Hmmm, in the meantime, leave a review to tell me how you liked this chapter and the story as a whole. xD.


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